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Report: Kentucky's John Calipari negotiated with NBA's Cavaliers

John Calipari "had gone deep in discussions" with the Cleveland Cavaliers about their head coaching job before signing his new seven-year deal with the University of Kentucky, according to a report published

Calipari, who has been insistently denying rumors of a possible jump to the NBA this offseason, re-upped with Kentucky through a seven-year, $52 million contract.

According to Yahoo!, which cited anonymous sources, Calipari also discussed a deal with Cavaliers owner Dan Gilbert that would have paid $60 million over the same time period and allowed him ultimate control of team personnel decisions. ESPN's Marc Stein reported later Monday that the numbers were closer to $80 million and 10 years, including the role of team president.

Calipari went on Kentucky Sports Radio on Monday morning during which host Gregg Doyel, a CBS Sports columnist, asked about the report.

"Now the stuff out is, 'He was approached by NBA teams,' and if you asked me that question, I'd be honest. Yes, I was," Calipari said. "Now, and again, I'm not gonna talk who. I'm not gonna talk numbers, and I'm not gonna talk what it entailed. But yeah, there were some teams in a hard way, but at the end of the day, for me, again I think it shows something that at different points, including this year, it was significantly more money for me to leave, and I said, it kind of tells you where my mind is."

Calipari also told KSR his UK contract extension was done in April but not announced until last week because "it had to go through the channels or whatever they wanted it to go through." As recently as May 1, when the Los Angeles Lakers job opened,Calipari tweeted: "Before it starts, I'm totally committed to helping this group of young men reach their dreams. I wouldn't & couldn't leave this group!"

UK is expected to start as the nation's preseason No. 1 college basketball team again this fall thanks to the return of players Andrew and Aaron Harrison, Willie Cauley-Stein, Dakari Johnson and Alex Poythress.

"Around Calipari, there is a strong belief that he would've landed in Cleveland had those key players decided to turn professional this year," the Yahoo! report reads.

Reports linking Calipari to the Cavaliers started May 14, when Fox Sports linked Cleveland's interest to a coach who has NBA experience as the former New Jersey Nets coach. That report coincided with Calipari's interview with the Cleveland Plain-Dealer, in which he was asked about coaching the hometown hero, LeBron James.

"Are you kidding me?" he asked the paper. "Have a chance to coach the best player in the world? Yes, I would love to coach him. But what's happened is our careers are cris-crossing without crossing.

"I'm not in a position where I would leave Kentucky right now. I'm not sure whether this is his last contract, or his next-to-last contract. But I would tell you if I had a chance to, I would absolutely."

Calipari added about the Cavliers' operation and the owner Gilbert in general: "The great news for the city of Cleveland is you have a great organization. There are teams that are trying to make money. There are teams that are just trying to get by. You have an organization there — it's not about money for them. It's about bringing a championship to Cleveland and what that means to the city of Cleveland."